BBDO Boosts Seid to New Post

By Kathleen Sampey on September 24, 2001

To recognize her role in helping land about a half-billion dollars in new-business wins, BBDO has promoted Lynne Seid, evp, managing director of its New York office, to the new position of chief client officer.

Seid will continue to report to New York CEO Bill Katz, who cited her "unique skill set" as one reason for the promotion. "Lynne has an unusual blend of creative and analytical skills," he said. "She's a cross between a business consultant and an entrepreneurial advocate."

He added that Seid, who joined the agency in March 2000 from Wolf Group in New York, was key to winning Cingular ($250 million), KFC ($200 million) and Office Depot ($60 million) last year.

Her insights, derived from qualitative research, also helped develop Charles Schwab's new positioning in a new campaign that breaks this month, said Jack Calhoun, svp of brand management at Schwab's San Francisco headquarters.

The old work, tagged, "Creating a world of smarter investors," featured Charles Barkley and Ringo Starr, among others, speaking authoritatively about their portfolios.

The new campaign has no tagline or celebrities and touts Schwab's heritage as "being a very trusted place people could go for help," said Calhoun. "[Seid is] great at getting the right resources at BBDO and matching them to a client's particular challenge," he added.

Seid spent 10 years at Wolf Group (formerly Partners and Shevack), where she most recently was chief marketing officer. Before that, she was at Hill, Holliday, Connors, Cosmopulos in New York; she helped consolidate the Revlon account there.